Mesa Verde to Brighton, Colorado

We left Mesa Verde this morning and drove all day. We're now in a motel in Brighton, Colorado, just outside Denver where we experienced the worst traffic of our whole trip, including both times crossing Los Angeles! Luckily there's a little family-owned taco joint just across an open field from the motel, and we had an absolutely delicious dinner there, so I'm more relaxed than I was just after the drive.

Chile Relleno at Spicy Tacos

"Molcajete Mexicano" at Spicy Tacos, including cactus pads, cheese, chiles,
chicken, steak, and a delicious sauce. 

I thought about how many of the foods we think of as "Mexican" were grown by the ancient Pueblo people that we learned much about in Mesa Verde. I'll be posting many more photos of our visit when we return home.

A grindstone for preparing corn in one of the ancient Pueblo people's cliff dwellings from
the 13th century, and our park-ranger guide to Balcony House in Mesa Verde.
Did they make tortillas like the ones we ate tonight?